CALLAWAY COUNTY - A bridge deck replacement on Route M over Interstate 70 is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, July 7, 2009, weather permitting. The Route M bridge is located at mile marker 144.

The bridge will be closed to traffic during construction, which is scheduled through mid-August. Ramps to and from I-70 will remain open. In order to cross the interstate, motorists will be detoured along I-70 to the next adjacent interchange, Route 54 (mile marker 148) or Route J (mile marker 137). Periodic lane closures on I-70 can also be expected.

The improvements are being planned as part of MoDOT's Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program, which will improve 800 of Missouri's worst bridges in five years. Ninety bridges will be replaced or repaired in the mid-Missouri area as a part of this program.

For more information about the planned work or for a complete listing of bridges included in the program, please call 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636) or log onto www.modot.org/central. You can also follow MoDOT's Central District on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MoDOT_Central.